It’s been 22 years since an American man won the U.S. Open.
That’s a drought ESPN analyst Pat McEnroe predicted will end this year in Flushing Meadows.
And between last year’s runner-up, Taylor Fritz, and fast-rising Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul, McEnroe’s prediction doesn’t seem so crazy.
“I’d love to see it,” said Shelton, just 22. “[Frances Tiafoe] is always on a different level when he plays here. Fritz was in the finals. Tommy always plays really well here, too. … We’ve got a lot of guys who can make deep runs here and play against the best players in the world. I think that it’s a matter of time for us.
“I can’t wait for it to happen, and we move on to a different question.”
American women have not only held up their end, but piled up trophies.
Serena Williams, sister Venus, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Sofia Kenin and Sloane Stephens have all won since 2017.
An American woman has reached the last four Grand Slam finals — winning two — and they come into Flushing holding four of the top nine spots in the WTA rankings.
The men are another story.
It’s been over two decades since Andy Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open.
Shelton was still in diapers, just months old.
But the hard-serving lefty rolled into Flushing Meadows having reached the quarterfinals in four of his last 11 Slams.
Two years after his run to the U.S. Open semis, Shelton earned his first Masters 1000 title in Canada and is ranked a career-high No. 6 in the world.
And he’s just one of a number of young American men poised for a breakthrough.
For his part, Tiafoe said for years he didn’t see the dearth of titles as an American tennis problem, but a Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal-Novak Djokovic problem.
“Guys have been knocking on the door. It’s been tough,” Tiafoe said. “I’ve been thinking about that realistically for probably four years. Before that, I didn’t really think it was a drought. I just think it was a Roger-Novak-Rafa issue, [Andy] Murray. You’re not winning a Slam. There’s a lot of other guys [not winning]. Your flag was irrelevant.
“Now I think the game is super-open. A lot of other guys have chances. Yeah, it builds in added pressure and added excitement as well. You’re like, ‘Wow, a lot of different guys can do that,’ and especially the American guys. Four or five guys could do it … are you going to be the guy, or be the guy that watches that guy do it? It’s fun, fun to be a part of.”
While Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz — colloquially dubbed Sincaraz — have split the last seven Grand Slam titles, the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic hegemony is gone.
Replaced by opportunity.
“Ultimately, yeah, if you want to win one, you’ve got to beat [Sinner or Alcaraz],” Tiafoe said. “We can’t be out there just putting them on a pedestal. We’ve got to beat them if you want to do anything special. I have a ton of respect for those guys, but at the same time, if we link up in the draw, I feel I can beat them.”
No. 4 seed Fritz reached the final here last year before falling to Sinner, the first American man to play for a Grand Slam title in 15 years. No. 6 Shelton, No. 17 Tiafoe and No. 14 Paul have all reached semis and been in the Top 10.
When Shelton cracked the Top 10 in June, he joined Paul and Fritz to give the U.S. three men in the Top 10 for the first time since 2006.
In the case of Fritz, coming back to Flushing after coming so tantalizingly close last year can only help.
“The first round or two there is a bit of nerves, but if you can get past that and settle in, you start to feel that confidence and you’ve been here before, played well,” Fritz said. “If you can just get past the initial nerves, then you start to settle into the tournament and really play well.”
